For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5not in passion of lust (1 Thes. 4:3-5 NKJV)
Besides filtering ourselves, Joshua Kansiewicz, senior associate pastor of East Coast International Church in Lynn, Massachusetts,[i] gives us three more essentials that must be part of this conversation if we are going to make room for the power of the Holy Spirit to conquer this sin in our lives:
Assess the Damage. While getting rid of or getting filters on all electronic devices must be an initial emergency response to admission of a porn problem, it does not begin to deal with the long-term issues or the root causes of someone’s use of pornography. One must identify the issues and causes by taking the time to assess the damage. Kansiewicz suggests that this first step requires a journal and lots of time. Begin your work on that journal by asking and addressing three key questions: What have I done? Why did I do it? What harm has it caused?
Quite often people need a lot more guidance than just pondering these three questions. That takes us to the next step.
Confess to a Leader or Mentor. Confession cuts through self-denial and self-delusion and forces us to come to terms with the extent and implications of our sin. Since looking at porn is a secretive sin, it festers in the darkness.
Confession begins the healing process by rejecting isolation and shame. In addition, confession makes crucial resources available to you. As Kansiewicz writes, “We all need help, especially the help of those who are wiser, more spiritually mature or more godly than we are. This may be a pastor, or a mentor, or a Christian counselor. It should be someone who is courageous enough to ask you hard questions but gracious enough to love you regardless of the answer. Someone like that may well be equipped to guide you to a place of greater wholeness and health.”
Father, help me to be honest with myself and others so I can begin the healing process until I am completely free of sin in my life.
[i] https://vitalmagazine.com/Home/Article/Let-s-Talk-About-Porn/
Love for A Lifetime 